Yu Darvish

Yankees 7, Twins 6: Curtis Granderson hit three bombs and went 5 for 5. If you just followed this game on Twitter, though, you’d think the storyline of the game was Phil Hughes stinking. The Yankees fans I follow are a surprisingly neurotic bunch despite following the most dominant team in American sports history. But…

After giving up a total of seven runs (six earned) on 17 hits and eight walks over 11 1/3 innings against the Twins and Mariners in his first two major league starts, Yu Darvish had the best outing of his brief career tonight against the powerhouse Tigers. Go figure. Darvish limited the Tigers to just…

The results were better in Yu Darvish‘s second major league start this afternoon against the Twins, but he was still pretty shaky. Darvish allowed two runs (one earned) over 5 2/3 innings before being pulled after 102 pitches. Not too bad, right? Well, he also allowed 14 baserunners (nine hits, four walks and a hit…

Rangers 11, Mariners 5: According to Google Translate, a literal translation of “run support” in Japanese is サポートを実行する. I have no idea if that covers the actual concept of run support, but I bet after last night Yu Darvish knows. He started out his major league debut by giving up four runs in the first inning…

Yu Darvish‘s major league debut didn’t go exactly as planned tonight against the Mariners, but he certainly showed flashes of why the Rangers broke the bank to bring him into the fold. In what was likely a case of the nerves, Darvish allowed four runs on four hits and three walks in a 42-pitch first…

Yu Darvish makes his major league debut tonight. Not a bad opponent for it either: the Seattle Mariners. I have this feeling the first Darvish-Ichiro matchup is gonna get a little press in Japan. Just a hunch. Darvish was 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 15 innings in spring training. He’s not…

Yu Darvish had his latest tuneup for his official major league debut last night against the Rockies and boy was he impressive. Darvish threw 97 pitches and allowed three runs over six innings while striking out 11, walking one, throwing one wild pitch and hitting a batter. And this wasn’t some B-lineup the Rockies were…

As noted by Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas, right-hander Yu Darvish is scheduled to make his first MLB start on April 9 at home against the Mariners. The Rangers revealed their season-opening rotation on Thursday, pegging Colby Lewis for Opening Day (April 6) against the White Sox. He will be followed by Derek Holland and…

Between now and Opening Day, HardballTalk will take a look at each of baseball’s 30 teams, asking the key questions, the not-so-key questions, and generally breaking down their chances for the 2012 season. Up next: the two-time defending AL champion Texas Rangers. The Big Question: Can the Rangers win the AL again? Why not? It’s…

This certainly isn’t unheard of, but it’s still interesting. T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports that Yu Darvish will pitch in a minor-league game Sunday instead of facing the Angels in a big-league game because the Rangers want to avoid giving their AL West rivals a look at their new ace. Manager Ron Washington told Sullivan…

Neftali Feliz, who is making the switch from the closer’s role to the rotation this spring, came out of his start Tuesday against the Cubs after three innings due to right shoulder stiffness. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News has some details: Feliz had pitched three scoreless innings on 49 pitches against the Cubs…

Making his second start of the spring, Yu Darvish walked four batters on his way to giving up two runs in three innings against the Indians on Tuesday. Darvish started the game with back-to-back walks, only to have both Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera get thrown out attempting steals of second base. A better second…

It is with a heavy heart that I get on a plane this morning and leave Arizona. No, it’s not a paradise. But for a few weeks in late February and on through March it is pretty damn close to it. The weather is perfect. The baseball is plentiful. Hope is ubiquitous. Friends — at…

I was on NBC SportsTalk last night, talking to Russ about the Yu Darvish debut. If you read my reports from the ballpark you got the general gist. But this time you get it from a parking lot in front of a ballpark while holding a mic, so there’s that.

Months of anticipation of Yu Darvish‘s debut led up to less than a half hour of baseball action, but it was exciting baseball action all the same. The tale of the tape: two innings, 36 pitches, 26 strikes, no runs, a couple of hits, three strikeouts, a spiffy defensive play and the beginning of what’s…

I’m not gonna say that there’s a lot of interest in Yu Darvish‘s first start, but the Padres’ PR staff has roped off 100 seats in a section along the third base line as an auxiliary media section. Yeah, this is not your usual Wednesday morning in the Cactus League. I got here super early and made…

After I left the ballpark yesterday afternoon I came back to my hotel and placed my health first among all other things. First, I moved into my new non-smoking room, which was good for my lungs. Then I went to the fitness center and ran on a treadmill for 45 minutes which was good for…

I’m hopping on an airplane here shortly and heading for Arizona. That’s right, kids, a week in the Valley of the Sun, taking in Cactus League action. I assure you, though, I won’t be enjoying myself at all. It’ll be all work. Really. Truly! OK, maybe I’ll enjoy it a little. But I will be…

We usually don’t pay a lot of attention to these early intrasquad games, but the buzz surrounding Yu Darvish makes him a notable exception. In an outing which was broadcast back to Japan, the high-priced right-hander faced the Rangers’ A squad yesterday in front of a sizable crowd in Surprise, Arizona. T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com…

Haven’t done one of these in a while, but a lot of stuff happened over the weekend for once. And I know a lot of you knuckleheads are too lazy to scroll back, so here’s what you missed: MLB released a statement on the Ryan Braun testing and stuff. Oh, and the identity of the…

Remember Lil’ Ron Washington? Well, he’s not the only youngster impersonating a member of the Rangers. From the Dallas Morning News‘ Evan Grant comes this shot of Mini Yu Darvish, who was spotted walking around the Rangers’ spring training complex on Saturday with a “MINIVISH” uniform:

See anything wrong with this picture? Like, say, the righty Yu Darvish playing catch with the glove on his right hand? According to Evan Grant, Darvish does that sometimes to keep balance. Or something. Looks cool. But remember, Meat: If you win 20 in the show, you can throw with your left hand and the press’ll think…

Derek Holland pitches for the two-time defending American League champions. A team which won its division by ten games last season and which signed the most sought-after pitcher on the market in Yu Darvish. When 2012 season previews start appearing soon, you’ll see many people pick the Rangers to win the AL West. Most gambling…

This morning we learned that the Cubs were going to sign Jorge Soler. Apparently the fat lady hasn’t sung on that one yet: Sources: Yankees have serious interest on OFer Jorge Soler, among many teams. Cubs are not close to signing Soler, as has been reported. — Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) February 14, 2012 After…

Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos has made a bunch of smart moves since taking over after the 2009 season and he was presented with one of the greatest gifts in major league history when the Angels took Vernon Wells‘ contract off his hands and sent back Mike Napoli in return, yet his Blue Jays are still…